Noticeboard

Patient Access to

Primary Care Services

Beccles Medical Centre offers a telephone appointment system led by Doctors. The telephone appointment service can be used for urgent and non-urgent health problems and works as follows:

8am to 11am - If have explored other options and still feel that you need medical advice call us on the main surgery number - 01502 712662

The receptionist will ask you for your details. If you need to speak to a clinician urgently because it's a genuine medical emergency, please tell the receptionist immediately.

The receptionist will ask you what prompted your call today to enable her to direct you to the most appropriate person which may NOT be a Doctor.

If you are put on the call back list, the GP will expect you to have resourced and tried other areas first. If your Doctor thinks you need to be seen, he/she will make an appointment for you.

If you want us to call you back between certain times, please inform us and we will try to accommodate this, but cannot always guarantee it.

Telephone consultations can be made at reception or by telephone. Telephone consultations are only available with the GPs. The doctor will attempt to ring the patient back on 2 occasions. If they are unable to make contact it is the responsibility of the patient to call back and request to go on the list again.

On-line access - Telephone consultations are available to book on-line. If you are not already registered for on-line access, please speak to a member of our reception team. Photo ID is required.

Routine bookable appointments are available with our Nursing and Health Care Assistant Team. The receptionist will be able to guide you to the most appropriate clinician.

USING OUR SYSTEM

Our patients telephone our Care Navigators :

Between 8am and 11am if they need a same day appointment with a Doctor or Nurse Practitioner

Between 11am and 2pm if they need to book a routine appointment with a Practice Nurse or Health Care Assistant

Between 2pm and 4.30pm if they want to discuss their results, request ‘fit notes’ or if the clinician has asked them to do so at a previous visit.

Each day we have a small number of people who become unwell and need urgent advice or an appointment later in the day and each day we have an Urgent Care Clinician on duty to assist you if necessary. The Care Navigator will ask the Urgent Care Clinician to call you back in these situations. Please ensure you are by your phone or your mobile is switched on.

Our Care Navigators are there to take your calls throughout the day and advise you on :

Self Care

Using our Minor Injury Service

Pharmacy services

Physio services

Well-Being and mental health services

Social services and voluntary services

Community services including district nursing, midwives and health visitors

You can contact all these services for advice and assistance without having to talk to your doctor. The Care Navigator taking your call will point you in the right direction and provide you with phone numbers and website addresses to assist you where needed. Our Care Navigators have been trained by our doctors and continue to receive training regularly.

We encourage patients to register for on-line access which allows you to request repeat prescriptions, book routine appointments with your usual doctor, see parts of your medical record and view your test results - please bring some photo ID to reception who will be able to arrange registration for you.

NHS Choices is the official NHS website offering a comprehensive range of health care information

Patient.co.uk also offers a wealth of information on symptoms and self care

Internet Access

Patients over the age of 16 can request internet access which will enable them to do the following online:

Online access must be requested in person at reception. A patient agreement (recommended by the RCGP) needs to be completed and a form of current photo identification provided. ID verification is required to prevent access being granted to the wrong person and supports the practice in adhering to information security guidelines. Patients will then be informed of the outcome of their request in due course, either in writing or by telephone. The practice will not approve online access requests if it is deemed that it may cause physical and/or mental harm to the patient. Requests cannot be made on behalf of somebody else and the practice does not currently offer online access to patients under 16 years of age.

Home Visits

Doctors do not carry out home visits routinely. If you are too ill to come to the surgery and need to see a clinician, please contact the surgery on 01502 712662 before 10.00am if possible as this enables the clinicians to plan their work. Please give full details to the receptionist, including details of the illness, the address at which the patient is staying, and a contact name and telephone number. This information is vitally important. A clinician will contact you and will determine if a visit is necessary.

Please be aware that we will always contact you first before we send a nurse round for a home visit, whether this is for a long term condition review or a flu vaccination.

Feeling Stressed, Anxious, Low or Depressed?

Wellbeing is important to us all. We want to feel good about ourselves, to get the most out of our lives and feel connected to other people. ‘Wellbeing’ means feeling more than just happy and confident, it means feeling able to cope when things get tough in our lives or when our physical health suffers.

Wellbeing Norfolk & Waveney and Wellbeing Suffolk provide a range of support for people with common mental health and emotional issues. Our Doctors recommend taking a look at their website:

Point 1 offer professional support for infants, children and young people experiencing the early signs of mental health and emotional problems.

They are an emotional wellbeing service available to any child or young person living in Norfolk or Waveney, or registered with a Norfolk or Waveney GP.

They offer short-term interventions to address the early signs of mental ill-health, to ensure infants, children and young people go on to achieve their full potential in life.

Their services are delivered by Ormiston Families, working with the youth charity MAP and Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT).

They also work with the local community to de-stigmatise issues around mental health. Their aim is to raise awareness so that children, young people and their families understand when and how to seek support.

To access see what Point 1 have to offer and access their services please visit their website as follows:

Domestic abuse can happen in any family, regardless of age, class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, financial status, disability or culture. It is estimated to occur in a quarter of all households at some time.

Waveney domestic violence & abuse forum supports people impacted by domestic abuse in the Waveney & Suffolk Coastal area. Please see the following website for further information and how they can help:

A number of Practice Nurse / Healthcare Assistant appointments are available at Rosedale Surgery, Ashburnham Way, Carlton Colville, Lowestoft, NR33 8LG for our patients. These appointments are early mornings/evenings and also some appointments on Sundays.

These appointments can only be booked by ringing your registered surgery. If you are booked one of these appointments you will be asked for your consent for us to share your medical record with the clinician providing your appointment.